Blue Wahoos honor Blue Angels, then soar with big win

Hot dogs, baseball, and the Blue Angels... can't get any more patriotic than that. Fans got to meet the Blue Angels and get a few autographs when the Blue Angels team invaded Blue Wahoos stadium in Pensacola on Monday, June 12, 2017.
Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com

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Alex Blandino (5) high fives the Blue Angels team as he takes the field at Blue Wahoos stadium in Pensacola on Monday, June 12, 2017.(Photo: Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com)Buy Photo

Deck McGuire wore his red, white and blue USA socks, the ones he always wears for good luck when pitching.

Monday night, it carried greater meaning.

McGuire and the Blue Wahoos hosted the Blue Angels, complete with the pilots and their flight crew forming a greeting tunnel for introductions.

"It was a really cool thing to be a part of," he said.

So was the lift McGuire provided his teammates, throwing a one hitter with nine strikeouts in seven innings as the Blue Wahoos beat the Mississippi Braves 8-1 and put themselves on the doorstep to sealing the first-half of the Southern League division crown.

"That is what makes the game fun, right?" said McGuire, a former first round draft pick (2010, Toronto Blue Jays) out of Georgia Tech. "Going out and challenging guys. It was a fun game to be a part of."

It was a fun night for the Blue Angels and Blue Wahoos, who have connected since the baseball team's arrival six years ago, to share together.

Blue Angels pilots spent time in the locker room with the Blue Wahoos before the game, then were part of various events on the field prior to the first pitch.

The Blue Angels presence, which included a 30-minute autograph session with fans that was packed, attracted a crowd of 4,678 — one of the largest Monday night crowds in team history.

"It is so special," said Cmdr. Ryan Bernacchi, in his final year as flight leader for the U.S. Navy's elite flight demonstration squadron. "It really was a nice opportunity to see behind the curtain (inside the Blue Wahoos clubhouse), see professional athletes and the see the approach they take.

Parker Batzloff, 8, chats with Cmdr. Frank Weisser before getting an autograph during Blue Angels night at the Blue Wahoos baseball game in Pensacola on Monday, June 12, 2017.
Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com

Amanda Allen snaps a photo of Carolyn Patterson with Cmdr. Ryan Bernacchi during Blue Angels night at the Blue Wahoos baseball game in Pensacola on Monday, June 12, 2017.
Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com

Major Mark Montgomery, center, checks out the special decoration behind home plate during Blue Angels night at the Blue Wahoos baseball game in Pensacola on Monday, June 12, 2017.
Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com

"It is very similar to ours with the preparation, the practice, the mental focus, the teamwork and the way teammates get along. You can certainly see it in the way they are playing

"Whether it is a military team or a sports team, they don't win by playing for the name on the back of their jersey. They win by playing for the name on the front."

The event was part of the 2017 Blues in the City series with the City of Pensacola and the Blue Angels Association, which joined together Monday with the Blue Wahoos and the Blue Angels for "Blue Angels in the Oufield" night.

Pensacola mayor Ashton Hayward addressed the crowd prior to the game.

How fitting on this night, then, for Blue Wahoos infielder Alex Blandino, to drive in four runs, including a bases-clearing double in the fourth that provided all the runs needed.

Blandino, who went 2-for-4, grew up in the San Francisco area attending several Blue Angels air shows as a kid. He has been a huge fan ever since.

"I had no idea they were here in Pensacola," Blandino said. "It is cool seeing them now. Getting to know them is really good.

"For them to form that line, cheering us on like that in pregame, I think that gave us an extra boost."

In a nice gesture, the Blue Angels pilots had members of their flight team crew throw out ceremonial first pitches. Nine were chosen. Nine baseballs flying at the same time to various Blue Wahoos players.

"That was neat," said Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly. "Very similar to a baseball team where there are so many people in the background that people don't see, so it was nice to see (flight team crew) them get recognized."

Kelly was accepted for appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy coming out of high school. But his eyesight was not strong enough, he said, to allow him to be a pilot and when he became a high draft pick, it made going to pro ball an easy decision.

But Kelly was aboard "Fat Albert" when the Blue Wahoos visited and took a flight on the Blue Angels transporter plane a couple years ago at Pensacola Naval Air Station.

The Blue Angels and Blue Wahoos have worked together since the Blue Wahoos famous inaugural game of their first season when the Blue Angels did a flyover to thrill the fans that night.

"We have had a great relationship with the Blue Angels from the start," said team president Jonathan Griffith. "Any time we can work it out to do something with them, we try and do it."

One of the Blue Angels pilots took batting practice at the cage underneath the stadium. As soon as the pilots arrived on the concourse for autographs, fans swarmed.

"Just walking in, it feels so good to be here in Pensacola and the support we get from the city is like none other," Bernacchi said. "We have so much gratitude. We love the opportunity to be home and and be with our friends and supporters here. Walking in and seeing a line form like that, we're humbled to be part of it."

As for the game, the Blue Wahoos loaded the bases for Blandino in the fourth, after neither team had a hit through three innings. McGuire carried a no hitter into the sixth before a single to the M-Braves All-Star infielder Luis Valenzeula.

With two on, none out, McGuire retired the next three batters and set the tone for the game.

"The hit is not as important as (not allowing) run," McGuire said. "I wanted to just keep us in the game. Getting first two guys on with their 2-3-4 (hitters) coming up is never ideal situation.

"I had Valenzeula 0-2 and I wish I had made a better pitch. But he can swing it. The guy's an all-star and he made a good adjustment on the pitch."

Aristides Aquino also went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Blue Wahoos, who blew open the game with two runs apiece in the sixth and seventh.

It sets up the chance to win the division Tuesday.

"You want to do it at home," Kelly said. "You don't want to leave it in someone else's hands if you have the chance to do it yourself."